Today we meet here on a historic occasion for Zimbabwe marking the first public auction of the country’s most valuable mineral, the diamond.
Indeed it is historic in that we have managed to satisfy the minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process certification scheme which is the global watchdog in regulating the trade of diamonds.
Following the mandate established by the Seventh Annual Plenary of the KPCS, which met in November in Swakopmund, Namibia, and a resolution of the Intersessional meeting in St Petersburg last month allowing Zimbabwe to sell its diamonds, we are gathered here today to witness the next step.
Given the fiscal pressures our economy is facing, the temptation to want to bypass the stringent requirements for such a sale was high, but I must congratulate the Government of Zimbabwe for resisting it though there were moments when some among us felt like going it alone international standards cannot be overemphasized.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is the sense of Cabinet that the proceeds from this sale should benefit the generality of Zimbabweans through the fiscus and boost liquidity levels in the country thus making financial intermediation more efficient.
However I must hasten to caution that we have to be both transparent and realistic in terms of our expectations from the sale of our diamonds.
In light of the above, I am pleased to note that the Minister of Finance in consultation with the Minister of Mines and other stakeholders, is working on a framework of determining how the revenues from this supervised export sale is applied for the benefit of the generality of the people of Zimbabwe through the fiscus.
I am also heartened to note that the President has confirmed this position by reiterating that our diamond sales should not go to the pockets of individuals.
May I also urge the Minister of Finance in consultation with the relevant parties to ensure that the US$31 million realised from the diamonds sold up to 2007 is fully accounted for.
Our mining partners must ensure that they play their part in paying taxes and other remittances due to Government
They must also be sincere in the implementation of social corporate responsibility to ensure the
long-term sustainability of the communities hosting these resources and the greater Zimbabwean community blessed with such minerals.
In particular, the relocation and involvement of the people of Marange and surrounding communities affected by the mining of diamonds, must be fair, ensuring that the disturbances of their economic and social settings is fully compensated for.
On our part as Government, we have put in place measures to ensure that we abide by transparent manner.
Whilst I thank Minister Obert Mpofu for the hard work put into organising this open process more still needs to be done to achieve a framework for revenue transparency in our extractive industries in general.
Whilst the publication of mining revenues is a critical and necessary condition in order to deepen good corporate governance in this sector, growth and sustainable development.
What is of greater importance is how the mineral resources are developed and how the revenues
are spent that will determine long-term growth and sustainable development.
In this regard, Zimbabwe like other resource rich countries, should develop an integrated extractive industries policy that takes into account the full extractive industries value chain.
This value chain should include the awarding of contracts and licences, monitoring operations,
forcing environmental protection and social distributing revenue among other things.
In light of the above, I would like to acknowledge the need to develop a diamond law and I am
happy to note that our Minister of Mines is seized with this matter and has started the process of
developing this legislative framework.
In addition, the Cabinet Taskforce on Chiadzwa which he chairs is mandated to expeditiously
deal with the methodology for allocating new concessions in Chiadzwa outside the concessions awarded to the Mbada and Canadile joint ventures.
Ladies and Gentlemne, it would be amiss for me not to acknowledge that there is a legal challenge pending in our Supreme Court with respect to mining claims at Chiadzwa.
of our courts the current supervised export sales will not include those diamonds which the court said must be kept in protective custody.
May I therefore assure everyone present that the inclusive Government stands bound by whatever decision our Supreme Court makes in respect of the ownership of the various claims at Chiadzwa.
During the tour, I have witnessed the chain of custody and am impressed by the level of security in the process.
Related posts:
- Zimbabwe Mining Minister: Zimbabwe Produced 3.8 million Carats of Diamonds Worth US$174.8 Million Between 2003 and 2009
- Zimbabwe Finance Minister Tendai Biti: Kimberley Process Must Allow us to sell our Diamonds”
- Gift Chimanikire Become Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Mines & Mining Development
- Zimbabwe’s Diamonds Causes Spat Between Finance Minister and Mines Minister
- Zimbabwe Diamond Production 4.4 Million Carats Between Jan-May 2010
